Since the announcement that Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson woudl play Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele respectively in the upcoming film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, many fans have been vocal about their disappointment. One petition on Change.org begged filmmakers to exchange Hunnam and Johnson for Matt Bomer and Alexis Bledel. Yesterday, Bomer responded to the casting controversy.

"I'm so grateful for the fans and touched," Bomer said in an interview with ETonline. "I'm looking forward to seeing the movie with Charlie and Dakota."

The petition on Change.org passionately states that Bomer, star of USA's "White Collar" and Bledel, former star of The WB's "Gilmore Girls" would make much better stars for the erotic film.

"Matt Bomer is the PERFECT DESCRIPTION OF CHRISTIAN GREY AND ALEXIS BLEDEL IS THE PERFECT ACTRESS TO REPRESENT ANASTASIA STEELE and if THEY ARE NOT, NOBODY WILL BE And I read the whole trilogy and I can assure that Matt is the perfect actor for this movie and Alexis too. So please PLEASE, all of the GREYsessed and Bomerettes in the world NEED those actors. They always will be for us the Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. WE CAN DO ANYTHING GUYS, ANYTHING," @donttouchmypatch, the creator of the petition, said in the petition's description.

As of today, the petition has 50,000 signatures.

E.L. James, author of Fifty Shades of Grey and producer and screenwriter for the film, is not letting the petition discourage her. Instead, the writer is using the criticism as a form of encouragement.

"To all the supporters, loves and haters - thank you so much for the passion that you have for this project. You all rock. All of you," James wrote via Twitter.

Producer Dana Brunett also displayed his perseverance over criticism on Twitter.

"there is a lot that goes into casting that isn't just looks. Talent, availability, their desire to do it, chemistry with other actor, etc," Brunett said via Twitter. "So if your favorite wasn't cast, then it is most likely due to something on that list. Keep that in mind while hating and keep perspective."

According to Forbes, James' trilogy "sold more copies than any other author in history -- more than 70 million in the first eight months they were on sale in the U.S." Forbes put James on their 100 Most Influential People of 2012 list.

Fifty Shades of Grey will be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and will be released Aug. 1, 2014.

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